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Norman boasts generally pleasant weather, a thriving arts community and one of the lowest costs of living in the country. Median rent here is $700, and most will tell you they don’t pay more than $500. If making your friends in urban housing markets fall into spastic fits of financial jealousy is your thing, Norman is a good place to go.

One of the most consistent benefits is the availability of rental property. Rentals are available in all shapes, sizes and income brackets. Bear in mind, though, that Norman is a small city and you’ll never need more than 20 minutes to cross town. The southern half of town has the highest concentration of rentals is there.

By far the most beautiful historical homes in Norman are those abutting the west side. Architecture varies here from stately ivy-covered mansions to flower-lined cottages and, fortunately, there are sometimes a few available to rent. If you can manage a spot here you won’t be likely to give it up soon. Price tags start at around $1500 for a 3BR house or $400 for a garage apartment. There are numerous small complexes dot the environs, especially on the immediate north end, and start around $350 for efficiencies.

In a not-so-odd coincidence, Norman’s Main Street is undergoing the same revitalization efforts as about a gazillion other Main Streets in the good ole’ US of A, but in a slightly more unusual twist, it’s really working. Local restaurants and a few shops fill the commercial spaces and the 2nd and 3rd floors of these creaky old buildings are slowly being converted into 1BR studios and efficiencies. Main Street is a good place to look. 1BR will start around $350.

The suburban north side of Norman is where you need to be. Homes here are new, clean, close to groceries, banks, and shopping and are ultra-suburban. Rents are typically reasonably priced, with nice 3BR homes starting around $1500. Newer condos and townhomes in the same locale can be had starting at $650 for a 2BR.

August 2017 Norman Rent Report

Welcome to the August 2017 Norman Rent Report. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Norman rental market, including comparisons to similar cities nationwide.

Norman rents increase sharply over the past month

Norman rents have increased 0.6% over the past month, and are up 0.1% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Norman stand at $640 for a one-bedroom apartment and $820 for a two-bedroom. This is the second straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in May. Norman's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 0.2%, as well as the national average of 2.9%.

Norman rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

Rent growth in Norman has been relatively stable over the past year - some other large cities have seen more substantial increases, while in a few cases, rents have actually declined. Norman is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Norman's median two-bedroom rent of $820 is below the national average of $1,160. Nationwide, rents have grown by 2.9% over the past year.

While rents in Norman remained moderately stable this year, similar cities saw increases, including Seattle (+5.6%), Phoenix (+5.0%), Dallas (+2.9%); note that median 2BR rents in these cities go for $1,710, $1,020, and $1,110 respectively.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Norman than most large cities. Comparably, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,060, which is more than three-and-a-half times the price in Norman.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.